NO TURKEY SERVED THIS WEEKEND
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We had a great one at a very good friend's house. It was wonderful food and wines but a bit too much! Well, that is what Thanksgiving is all about!
But if you are tired of turkey please come to Mezzanotte or Capriccio this weekend - our menus are totally turkey-free. |
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THE 2009 HOLIDAY SEASON IS HERE! Yes, it is here! We are already booking reservations for private events during December and have already received several reservations for our New Year's Eve celebration. Please make your reservations soon before we run out of space. |
We will be traveling to Argentina on the last week of April of 2010. Our itinerary will take us to the capital city of Buenos Aires and, of course, to the Mendoza region where great Malbec wines are made. We don't have any details yet but have several interested couples already pre-booking for the trip. If you are interested please let me know ASAP as I am doing the preliminary planning for this exciting trip.
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FEATURED WINES OF THE WEEK
FEATURE WINES AT MEZZANOTTE
OK... the holiday season is here. So what a better time than this to really relax and reflect on all of our accomplishments and good times of the year past? And what better than a nice glass of Prosecco to do that? In Italy people actually drink prosecco quite often before dinner as an aperitif. On our last night in Italy this is exactly what we did. Here is my lovely wife Adriana sipping a nice bubbly prosecco at Cafe La Dolce Vita in Rome:
So this week we are again profiling the beautiful Villa Erica Prosecco.
Prosecco is similar to Champagne but made from the Prosecco grape (rather than Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay). Also, the second fermentation is done in pressure tanks (Charmat Method) rather than "in the bottle" fermentation of Champagne (Method Champenoise). The end result is an amazingly crisp and fruit forward bubbly.
Prosecco - Villa Erica (Veneto, Italy) - Bottle 28 / Glass 6
Pale straw-yellow in color. Exquisite subtle pear, citrus, white-fleshed fruit
and white-petaled flowers. Marvelously fruity, pleasantly amiable
and superbly fresh on the palate, with a perfectly-balanced texture
which combines gentle acidity and a lively, creamy fizziness.
Extremely versatile, all-course wine, perfect in any convivial situation. Superb as aperitif, whenever raising glasses for a toast. Great with shellfish dishes. Well worth trying with crème brulee or cheesecake.
Cabernet Sauvignon - Novella (Paso Robles, California)
Bottle 28 / Glass 7
Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 16% Cabernet Franc and a bit of Merlot. This wine opens with aromas of plumb, raspberry, and molasses as well as slight hints of black pepper. A rich entrance onto the palate of dark chocolate, plumb, and molasses give way to silky black cherries and raspberries leading to a medium length finish that lightly lingers with smoky oak. Pairs very well with red sauces and grilled meats.
FEATURE WINES AT CAPRICCIO
I continued looking for a nice Cava (also similar to champagne but made from Spanish grapes) this week but couldn't find one. I promise a nice Cava really soon.
Our featured wines of the week, however, are great values. Please enjoy them:
Tempranillo - Castillo de Montblanc (Spain)
Bottle 24 / Glass 6
A superbly made bold red with warm fruit and spice flavors.
Conca de Barbera is nestled away in the Catalan hinterland, approximately 50 miles South-West of the lovely city of Barcelona. Tempranillo flourishes in these arid, difficult conditions and the only vegetation in the immediate area surrounding Castillo itself are Tempranillo vines! The wine displays classic Tempranillo character with flavors of tobacco, spice and a hint of leather on the palate. The wine is unoaked, in contrast to most Rioja Tempranillo, to allow the ripe, warm fruit to shine through and give the succulent fruit an opportunity to match a wider range of foods.
Monastrell - Bodegas Castano (Yecla, Spain)
In France this grape is called Mourvedre and is used to make the world famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Excellent example of the Monastrell grape in its early years. Intense aromas of black fruit (plums) and less ripe red fruit (cranberries, mulberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants). On the palate it is fruity and fresh, and alive with tannins which leave a pleasant aftertaste.
This is an insane value produced from three vineyard sites ranging in age from 40-60 years. Match it with beef or lamb. |
